My Riffs

You're gonna catch a whole lot more with honey than vinegar. Try reaching people through love and kindness and you'll get a whole lot further.

You’ll become what you focus on. Your circle of closest friends will likely dictate what you focus on. Find friends who expand your views and focus onto big things, not petty small minded things. You’ll become the thing the group is focused on. 

You’ll never grow past what you dream. You get to set your sights and dreams to whatever size you wish. If you dream small you will live small. If you dream large you’ll live large. Do the dreams have to be rooted in some reality? Yes of course, but those who dreamed the biggest dreams usually dreamed beyond their present realities. 

We tend to measure wealth by money. But true wealth has little to do with money. It has to do with quality. Quality of life, relationships, health. Those who have these things are the truly wealthy.

Everything rushed is less valuable. It may cost more but it’s not as valuable. The most valuable things on earth can’t be rushed. 

Good listeners make good learners. 

Good days don’t happen by accident. They come from hard work and wisdom. 

It can be overwhelming figuring it all out. So sometimes you just figure out the next step. And that’s totally fine.

Be quick to say I'm sorry. Be quick to say I forgive you.

Talking is good. Running your mouth isn't. A wise man knows where that line is.

Clear communication starts with clear thinking. Clear, effective communicators are the most powerful people on earth. They have the ability to move people in great and powerful ways. So start by sorting your thoughts out. Get them really clear. You can do so by writing and having intelligent discussions with good people. Once you get clear concise thoughts, communicate them. You will move people.

Nobody is truly independent. We all need other people. No matter how strong one may seem or actually be, they still need other people. It's a big mistake to start thinking we don't need each other. Lean into those you trust, you're only stronger when you lean on others.

Taking it a day at a time is great advice. It doesn’t mean don’t plan. But it does mean don’t stress over what tomorrow could bring. Take care of what you can today and don’t stress over tomorrow. 

Life comes with highs and lows, there's no avoiding it. But it's each extreme that balances each other out. You have to feel the pain of being low in order to appreciate the moments of feeling high. But feeling high all the time isn't realistic and you miss many of the developmental moments of life when you're only riding a high.

We often say we're too busy. But usually we mean it's not important enough to prioritize. We make time for our priorities. 

It’s one thing to point out a problem, but something else to give hope. It doesn’t take much intelligence to see a problem. But to see a solution, or at least to find some hope, that’s what separates a leader from a follower. 

When someone feels like they have to prove something they likely need to. Mostly because they’re not there yet. Those who are there and wise need prove nothing. They just live it. 

You have to do new things to get new results. The results won’t turn around on their own. The input has to be adjusted. And the input comes from you. Life is plenty pliable, we just get stuck in ruts.

Kids are amazing at the little things. An airplane going overhead is so cool to them. A new bird or animal brings them joy. Life robs us of those little joys. But it really is the little moments and things we overlook that actually are what life it about. Continue to be amazed by all the little things and suddenly life will become more full, colourful and fulfilling.

There’s no room for your ego. Your ego will crowd you out of places meant for you. Your ego is an unnecessary companion. It will weigh you down and ultimately drown you.

Don't worry about making big gains. Keep making small gains and little by little you will look back and have made some large gains.

Your treasure and heart will end up in the same place. See where someone invests their treasure and you know where their heart is.

The easy choice isn't always the easy path. The easy path is quite often the wrong choice. We don't invite difficulties on us, but choosing the difficult leads to bigger and greater things. Doing difficult things is a more valuable path than easy street.

One major sign of gaining more self control is when you don't take your inner turmoil or moods out on other people.

Wasted energy is fighting things you can't change. Wasted energy is overreacting to anything.Wasted energy is feeling sorry for yourself. Wasted energy is investing in something with no return. Wasted energy is being negative. Wasted energy is spending time with those who bring you down.  Use your energy for things that are worth it.

Two ears and one mouth. It’s a good ratio for reality. Listen and think twice before you speak. Listen more than you speak. But do both. Holding our ideas and thoughts inside isn’t healthy. We need to speak them and dialogue them with trusted people. It’s that give and take of listening and speaking that’s important in getting the right balance of taking in information and transforming it into ideas and actions. 

Patience is a virtue, no doubt about it. But patience can mean inaction without wisdom. Patience is a virtue when you know what you're doing will pay off.

Don't add fuel to the fire. There's so many people worked up over so many different things. They're voices are amplified by technology. It's easy to hop on the current rage train and add fuel to the fire. But so many times that doesn't actually help the cause. Don't add fuel to the fires. They will go out on their own if enough people refrain from fuelling them.

Everything in todays society is geared for speed. Nothing moves at a slow pace anymore. And when we encounter slow, we get frustrated. Speed doesn't equal quality though. The higher the speed the greater the chance for a big wreck. The higher the speed the lower the quality of most things. Slowing down has to be done intentionally. It may even need to be scheduled. But it's something so needful no matter how out of vogue it is.

Another counterintuitive post today…  To be full, you have to be poured out.